Trevanian channels [a:John Fowles|10039|John Fowles|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1228801594p2/10039.jpg], specifically the 1965 [b:The Magus|16286|The Magus|John Fowles|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344264891s/16286.jpg|1816475]. like Gwen Stefani channeling Kelis, this work is a thematic / tonal repetition of a better prior work. the 'mad girl' ; the 'aged wise father figure'; the interplay between modern culture and ancient myth.... well, I don't want to get into spoiler territory so I'll just say, read The Magus. better, more complicated, and written some two decades earlier...

however, I still have the book ranked at a (low) 4. even the imitation of true greatness can be quite readable, and I pulled this book out of the 'Abandoned' section of my ebook reader because, in the end, I did have to see the resolution and the build-up, replete with madness/meaning/insanity sequences was word choice-on. a nice little origami piece incomparable to the complex living perfection of the Magus, but in its own way readable and engaging. Trevanian, author of the clear 5/5 [b:Shibumi|1059|Shibumi|Trevanian|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348781238s/1059.jpg|1326919], the very high 4 [b:Eiger Sanction|30893|The Eiger Sanction|Trevanian|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348780157s/30893.jpg|2160448], and very competent 4's Loo Sanction, Main has given the world 5 very good books. it's more than most people !